The top reported proficiency rate is 96% in Science. The lowest is 77% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on North Star Central El Sch
North Star Central Elementary serves young students in grades pre-K through grade 4 in Boswell, a small former coal company town in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. The school sits on a dedicated campus on Morris Avenue, just outside the historic downtown grid of the borough.
The school's academic profile shows solid performance in math and science, with a strong showing across the elementary range. In the most recent state assessment data, the school's math proficiency was in the upper range for its tested grades, and science proficiency was very high. English language arts proficiency was somewhat lower but still above the midpoint. Across the subjects where the school reported results, its overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile relative to districts in Somerset County. The school's tested enrollment is relatively small, which means individual student results carry more weight in the percentages reported.
The student body is nearly entirely from low-income households; the school's free-or-reduced-price-lunch enrollment is at full participation. The enrollment itself spans the pre-K through grade 4 range, with roughly equal numbers of students in the elementary grades and a smaller pre-K cohort. The student population is overwhelmingly white, with very small numbers of students from other racial and ethnic groups. Data on students with special education plans and English learners was not available in the records reviewed.
Boswell itself is a small and declining community. It was built as a planned coal company town in the late 1800s by the Merchants Coal Company, with brick worker housing and a grid street layout that remains walkable in form. The mine and later a garment factory that employed many residents both closed decades ago. The historic downtown on Main Street and Center Street retains its original buildings but has lost most of its original businesses; the stock of housing remains largely the original coal-era brick homes. The population has fallen from a peak in the early 1900s to a much smaller current base, with ongoing slow decline. Median home values in the borough are below both the state and national benchmarks, and the economic base is now largely retired miners and their families. The principal civic gathering points are the school campuses and a community forest on the former mine site. Public transit does not serve the area; residents rely on personal vehicles and state highways.
The school is part of North Star School District, which spans several small communities and is undertaking a major restructuring. The district is consolidating its three separate buildings into a centralized campus in Boswell. The middle school building in a neighboring township is being closed; fifth and sixth graders will move to the elementary school here after planned additions and renovations, and seventh and eighth graders will move to the high school. This is a significant structural change that families in the district will experience over the next several years. The district has also raised property tax millage to support the consolidation project, and further increases are expected as the build-out continues. A parent considering this school should anticipate those ongoing changes and tax pressures as part of the context.
For families in Boswell seeking an elementary option, this school offers a local choice with demonstrated strength in math and science, full access to free meals, and small class sizes within a community that is stable but economically strained. The broader district is navigating a major transition that will reshape the experience of older students in the system.
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